De Padre a Hijo
by knights-and-plushies
Summary: Haruka and Makoto, an immigrant couple from Japan, experience the highs and lows of parenthood with their adopted son.


_Dear Mom and Dad,_

_Things have been going well lately with the adoption process. We get to finally bring him home today! We're still in the middle of the whole entire process, but I've stopped worrying as much haha. They've been saying that our home fine but that once Sako moves in we should add some things that's personal to him. Like you know, have him pick things out. I wish that you guys could see him, he's absolutely beautiful. Haru and I are both so happy to have him around our lives. Also, things are finally settling down in San Francisco. Sorry again.. for moving suddenly. Hard to believe that it's been an entire year since we left Iwatobi. Our adoption consultant, Mrs. Miller, is trying all she can to let Sako travel outside of the United States. Realistically though, we can't even take him far outside the city but we hope that one day we'll be able to bring him back home. Has that hit you two yet? You guys are GRANDPARENTS! Wouldn't it be cute if Sako gave you two nicknames? Haha.. truthfully he still calls Haru and I by our first name. It can't be help though but I hope that he'll call us "dad" one day. Well, here's to hoping! I love you two so much and extend my regards to Ren and Ran._

_I'll write again soon,_

_Makoto_

A bright and lively morning begins with a loud tiger roar. The sounds that follow are a symphony of monkey cackles and the distress of the zookeepers in charge of them. More or less, the common sounds of pre-opening at the San Francisco Zoo. From the entrance, if you cut through the Primate Center, go past Africa, and make a right at the rhinoceroses , you'll end up at the Cat Kingdom where a stoic man with deep blue eyes quietly feeds the tigers.

"Come, eat now," he hums quietly to the male tiger, throwing large sections of horse meat directly in front of him. The other tiger, his sister, eventually catches on to meal time, but waits patiently until her brother finishes eating. This is the only tricky part of taking care of tigers. If the submissive tiger eats before the dominant one, that tiger will get attacked. As such, the man dutifully watches the older brother until he walks away from his meal.

"Yo, Haruka!" a boisterous voice alarms the caretaker and the two animals inside, "be careful for that boy! He can be a real pain in the ass!"

"Good morning," Haru gives him a dull look and goes straight back to work.

"Oh no, no. You don't have to call me by my last name, Charlie is just fine by me," he sarcastically banters and leans against the railing, "I tease, I tease. You can cut your old mentor some slack you know? One whole year we've worked together, but not_ once_ have you accepted to have drinks after work! Or even let me give you a nickname! But, today is a new day so you're gonna budge or what?"

"Probably not."

"Hah," Charlie sighs, "I've gotten used to that cute attitude of yours, maybe I've let you get away with too much of it though.."

Haru puts the meat pail down and looks up at Charlie in annoyance, "What do you want?"

"Oh a lot, nothing that you'd be able to give me. But I'm not here for me, I'm here for you."

"Why?"

"Well, I am glad you asked! See, when I was strolling through Africa, I bumped into your husband." Charlie presses his chin against the rail, finding amusement in Haru's distress. "You never told me that you were planning to adopt! I'm hurt that you never told me or the tigers though. Congratulations nonetheless."

"Should I apologize?"

"Nah," Charlie lets out a diffusive chuckle, "it's not in you to open up- your husband told me that- and it's fine with me. Besides, you being warm and inviting actually sounds creepy to be quite honest. I'll take over from here. Go on your thirty minute or something, I got my own two little pieces of tiger shit to take care of."

Haru nods his head and leaves the den. As he and Charlie pass one another, Charlie pats his back and whispers a quiet "good luck". Haru knows that he is lucky to have him as a partner, even while he can be an annoying ass-hat at times, he never steps too far into his comfort zone. He'd also never admit that he finds their banters to be amusing. Social skills and other necessities such as networking or comradery is something that isn't innate in him. It's not that he's incapable of it, it just requires a lot of time and compromise; and between work, married life, and the whole adoption debacle, time isn't something he has to spare.

"My, my," another one of his co-workers, a caretaker for the siamangs, coos at a pregnant ape, "you're going to give birth soon dear! Do you know what you plan to name your babies?"

Haru watches for a few moments as the sight raises his anxiety. The only bad part about misfortune is that, if you walk long enough your mind can be easily overwhelmed. Lately, it seems like everything is reminding him of parenthood, especially working at the zoo. During mating season, plans can be made for animals to copulate in hopes of offsprings. It's a rewarding endeavor that brings the entire zoo to life, something that Haru himself enjoys. Unfortunately though, that excitement and joy is something that he's been struggling to feel towards his own son. As he crosses the border leading to Africa, he immediately sees his husband sitting on a bench, admiring the greenery.

"Ah, Haru," Makoto smiles warmly the moment he catches his eye, "I made you lunch!" He raises a bento box wrapped in a colorful, red cloth. "I ended up using all the mackerel though. I'll pick some up on the way home."

"It's fine, thank you." Haru lays his hand on Makoto's cheek and pulls him into a hug, "I'm surprised to see you."

"Y-yeah.." Makoto keeps one of his arms wrapped around Haru's waist and starts to laugh, "I got nervous waiting around the house so I spontaneously decided to come visit you. For you know, peace of mind? Anyways, do you have time to spare?"

"Half an hour."

"I won't take up too much of your time then," Makoto begins to rub Haru's lower back as soon as they sat down, "I met Charlie earlier, sorry about telling him about the adoption. I didn't know you were keeping it a secret."

Haru leans back so that Makoto's hand went inside his shirt, "It wasn't a secret, I just didn't tell him."

"I expected as much haha." He keeps his eyes on Haru, admiring little aspects that changed as they grew older, "Can you imagine?" His tone softens as he reminisces, "So much has changed since we left Iwatobi. You've barely changed, you look almost the same since we started the swim club eleven years ago."

"I haven't noticed. You changed though, your looks age well."

"Oh?" Makoto rubs his chin and continues to laugh, "I never noticed either, we're always together so I don't really spend time focusing on myself." He leans back against the bench and takes a deep breath, "That though.. that's all going to change now. We're going to be dads officially when Sako comes home with us."

"Yeah.. we are." Haru tries to keep the ting of worry from showing in his voice, but he knows better. Fatherhood is something that Makoto will take to naturally, something that won't apply to himself. And that haunts him. It isn't not wanting to be a dad that scares him, it's being a dad that his son won't love. Haru takes a second to collect his thoughts and looks up at Makoto watching him, and to no surprise he already knows.

"Haru.." Makoto sits straight up and grabs both of Haru's hands, "I'm going to tell you something that I never planned on telling anyone." A look of guilt and shame shows on his face, "I thought of leaving you and giving up on Sako. Not once. Not twice, but many times. Whenever I was in that moment, all I could think of was that I was scared of how my life was going to plan out. So I rationalized leaving everything we built to live a life far, far away from anyone that I could possibly know."

Haru couldn't say nor do anything other than staring in shock.

"These thoughts that you and I have won't go away," Makoto continues, "they're going to live with us and show whenever we're vulnerable. I can't speak for you, but I have an idea of what's going on inside of your head and it's okay. Neither of us are going to be a perfect father because Sako is going to need different things that maybe even I can't give him. So I'm not sure what's going to happen tomorrow, but all that I want is to have you and our son with me."

"Haruka Nanase, I repeat Haruka Nanase. I need you back in the tiger's grotto."

"Makoto.. I'm sorry."

Makoto shakes his head and pulls Haru into a quick kiss, "Don't worry about me. I know what I want and I know that you'll always be by our side." A melancholic look can be seen behind his usual smile, "Sako's counseling with Mrs. Miller ends at four o'clock, why don't you pick him up? I'll make dinner for all of us."

"Alright," Haru leans in for another kiss before sharing their quiet goodbye. He waits, standing by the entrance, until Makoto couldn't be seen anymore. A relief, and a newfound gratitude, renews his conscience and starts his long walk back to work. The only good part about misfortune is that, if you walk long enough you'll be able to remember the fortunate things in your life.

On the other side of the city, a steady flow of foot traffic moves along the Castro district in San Francisco. A bright and busy neighborhood full of history and gay porn shops decorate the older Victorian buildings, while laughter and inappropriate conversation adds to the ambiance. On the second floor of a rich purple building next to an Asian-fusion restaurant with a double entendre name, an adoption agency known for their success in helping international, LGBT couples adopt, operates.

"Now, I know we have been through this before, but just to remind you I am going to record our conversation. Is that alright with you?"

"Yeah, it's okay."

An elderly Caucasian woman wearing an ornately embellished jacket begins to jot things down in a notebook, keeping sure that it stays a good distance away from the child across from her. She pulls out a tape recorder and pushes record. "Now," a slight English accent resonates in her voice, "Sako is your name now yes? That is a very lovely name for a boy! Do you like it?

"Mhm," A boy of ambiguously Asian heritage, age six and a half, swivels on an office chair, his light ash-brown hair sways to-and-fro as he moves. "It's different than my other names though. I don't like Max because that was Max's name. And then Mother Tess named me Joseph but Joseph is an angel, and he died already so I didn't want it. I told the taco lady my new name and she told me it sounded like a girl name.. it made me mad."

"Well," she gives a genuine frown and lowers herself closer to his level, "that is simply rude of her!" The elder lady playfully looks around and then whispers to Sako, "Now don't tell your fathers I told you this, but that lady is what we grandmas call a "bitch". A downright hag of a woman that one is."

Sako giggles mischievously upon hearing the curse word, "You're funny Mrs. Miller! I promise I won't tell, because I don't think uncle Mako will like it. Whenever the loud boom boom music play with the bad words, he starts moving really funny! Uncle Haru says he isn't dancing, but uncle Mako tells uncle Haru to cover my ears like this sometimes," he leans closer to Mrs. Miller and covers her ears, "he has bigger hands though!"

Mrs. Miller plays along by mimicking his movements, "Oh my. Is it like this big? I do hope that it does not harm you. What else are your fathers doing when all this happens?"

"Uhm.." Sako rocks back-and-forth in his chair, "when my ears are closed, uncle Mako yells at uncle Haru and then they talk kind of funny. Like when we go to the Asian spaghetti place with the vegetables. "

"Well that sounds like fun!" A gentle smile warms Mrs. Miller's face as she continues to jot things down into her notebook. Their conversation continues with light conversation on the topics of Adventure Time, what grandmas do at night, and the everlasting breakfast battle between Cap'n Crunch and Lucky Charms. From time to time she slides in a serious question, mainly about his two fathers, but always makes sure to make it inconspicuous. The difficult parts about older children that are put up for adoption are that they, most of the time, lose an innocence about them. Sako falls into this catagory. His speech and general interests reflects that of someone his age, but how we reacts to some particularly tough things makes him almost mature.

"There is actually something I want to ask you, and I want you to be as honest with me as possible. Do you think you can do that for me?"

"Mhm."

Mrs. Miller pauses for a second, carefully choosing each and every word in her mind, "What do you think about both of your fathers?"

Sako thinks for a bit, genuinely unsure about the question, "Uhm.. well.. I don't know. uncle Mako and uncle Haru are the first to adopt me, I don't know what that means.. but Mother Tess told me that they're my "real" family."

Mrs. Miller makes a mental note to pay a visit to Mother Tess. "I'm going to ask you another hard question, it's okay if you don't want to answer. Do you think of uncle Mako and uncle Haru as your family?"

"Uhm.." the tone in his voice drops and looks up at Mrs. Miller, almost pleading, "I have fun with them. I get sad when they have to go. And sometimes I wake up and I miss them.. I want to."

Sensing his distress, Mrs. Miller leans forward and pets Sako's head, "I know that you weren't happy when you were living with Mother Tess. It's hard when you have to share attention with so many others, but you are lucky now. Uncle Mako and uncle Haru love you and they've also been working so hard so that you can come live with them." Her tone warms up as soon as she feels Sako's nerves calm, "And you know what? They want just you, and only you. Do you understand?

Sako merely smiles and nods.

"Then remember that dear. Whenever you're unsure, just talk to them. They'll listen."

A sudden page breaks their conversation, and a voice follows from a telecom, _"Mrs. Miller, Haruka Nanase is here to pick up Sako Tachibana."_

"My, is it that time already?" Mrs. Miller closes her notebook and reaches over for the telecom, "Thank you Candice, tell Mister Nanase that we'll be out momentarily."

_"Yes, ma'am."_

"Unfortunately mister Sako, I guess our time is up for today," she steadily gets up from her chair and places her hand on his shoulder, "thank you for talking with me, you were quite exceptional." Mrs. Miller takes out a popsicle out from the miniature freezer on the other side of her office and walks back to Sako, "For you dear, until next month!"

"Thank you!"

Another page rings the door opens and Mrs. Miller extends Sako a hand, "Shall we go meet your new family?"

An excitement, albeit small, shines in his eyes. "Okay.. I'm ready."

_"In my skillet here I've added a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and it's nice and hot. I have this over medium-high heat. So I'm going to put in my salmon skin-side down. Now skin is edible, but it should be crispy. It shouldn't be soggy."_

The sound of an Italian woman with a slight lisp raving on about sushi-grade salmon echoes throughout a charming two-bedroom apartment in the heart of Japantown. The room itself dresses in the style of two men with simple taste, all the basic necessities present and with no throw pillow in sight.

"Skin-side down.." A taller-than-average man stares into a bowl of raw salmon cutlets. He turns one of the cutlets skin-side up and scratches his brown hair in confusion, "It shouldn't be soggy, but how crispy should I cook it? Like a potato chip crispy? Hm.."

He paces around the kitchen, occasionally glancing up at the television, but unfortunately it only worsens his distress. A simple assortment of spices, herbs, mushrooms, spinach, and salmon occupy the small counter space, all beginning to suffer from drying out.

"I-I should have picked an easier recipe.." he pushes his glasses back and studies the salmon once more. Normally, he's a terrible cook, but today it's nerves on top of his innate culinary skills, "maybe if I.. wait."

Eventually, he turns on the stove, only to turn it off from psyching himself out. He looks at the clock, but remembers he broke it in a fit of nerves not too long ago. His last resort is to call Haru, but then the dinner might as well be made by him and today is particularly special.

"Ugh.." he laments, "what do I do.. How do I cook the salmon again? Where's the remote.. oh right, I left it by the doo-." Makoto entire being stops as soon as he turn to the front door.

"Hi uncle Mako," Sako quietly waves from beside Haru.

"You cook the salmon skin-side down, but I figured this would happen, so we bought dinner." Haru lifts a paper bag, "Sako picked out burritos."

Emotions instantly overwhelm him as he tries to form words, but not even one syllable lets out before the tears start to form. As the first tear falls, the second, third, fourth, and fifth follow suit, soon after Makoto is standing there a sobbing mess. "Welcome home!" he barely manages to say and rushes to them, sliding on his knees and immediately pulling Sako into a tight embrace.

"Your hair tickles!" Sako says with a smile and a cheerful laugh, warmly hugging his new dad just as tight back.

"I'm just.. so glad to see you," This moment lasts and then lasts some more. Tears continue to fall as month's worth of stress leaves Makoto's body. An entire year waiting for this moment, to be able to hold his son in his arms for as long as he wants. To have him in his home without worrying about him being taken away or having to leave, that relief alone brings an incredible amount of joy to him. Makoto, now calm enough to be coherent, lifts Sako up onto his shoulders and gives Haru a kiss on the cheek, "I have my two loves that I love the most with me.. Ahh I'm so happy right now!"

Haru watches in quiet amusement as the two men in his life spin around laughing. He puts the food down on a free section on the counter and begins to clean up the "dinner" that never was to be.

"Uncle Mako? Can I go to my room?"

"Yeah of course," Makoto gently lets Sako down and then ruffles his hair, "your room is down the hall to your left, do you want me or Haru to go with you?"

"It's okay," Sako gives them a big smile and grabs his bags. "Oh," he stops and pulls out two cards from inside his bag, "I made these for you. Don't read them now.. wait until I leave. Promise?"

He smiles reassuringly at him, "I promise." Makoto grabs the cards from him and kisses his forehead, "Just come out whenever you feel it, we'll be here."

"Okay."

Makoto waits until he left the kitchen and then lets out a weary sigh, "He's finally here.. hard to believe isn't it Haru?" He places the cards on the kitchen island and plops down onto a nearby stool, "I didn't think I'd cry."

"He's already so independant."

Makoto begins to laugh, "Yeah, it's like we have a little man instead of a six year-old. You know, before today, I always wondered how'd he be like when he moved in with us. Would he have been the loud type, the troublemaker, the bookworm, or anything really. It was fun to imagine how today would have been." He rests his head on his arms, "This was a lot more subdued than I imagined, but it doesn't matter to me though. Our small family is complete."

Haru merely smiles in response as he begins on the leftover dishes.

"You know.. he kind of reminds me of you when we were younger."

"Oh?" Haru looks up from the sink, "how so?"

"Self-sufficient. I don't know.. he strikes me as the type that can take care of himself in most ways."

"He justs need a smaller you to balance him out now."

"Oh? Are you suggesting that we should adopt another child?" Makoto teases, "I'm happy with just one though. I have you and I have him, I couldn't ask for more."

Haru turns the water off and dries his hands, "I wouldn't be against it.." He sits down next to his husband and slides his hand over his, "but I prefer just you two."

They share a brief, quiet moment holding each other's hand. "We should read his card, yeah?" Makoto grabs the one with his name on it, a picture of a tall man stretching from edge-to-edge with a big smile on his face, "How cute," a similar smiles forms on his face and he opens the card, "oh, he wrote something inside. I'll read it."

_Uncle Mako, _

_Are you a giant? Mrs. Miller says you're like sunshine. Is it hot when you go back to the sun? Do you bring uncle Haru with you? Mrs. Miller says a lot of funny things but I don't understand her. She told me that you're my new family now. That made me happy. I'll take care of you._

"Oh god my heart just exploded." Makoto buries his head in his arms and begins to whimper, "Haru read yours before I die."

Haru grabs his card and a picture of a man with a cape flying looks back at him.

_Uncle Haru,_

_Mother Tess read me a book one time and I liked it. The hero didn't say anything though, just like you. Are you a superhero? Does that make uncle Mako your sidekick? It's okay if we don't talk because the book says that you have to protect your costume. I'll protect you so you can fight all the bad guys!_

"Awh how adorable! He thinks of you as his hero!"

Haru doesn't say anything but smile, even while Sako's misconceptions about him are quite large, it's reassuring to be held with such adoration.

"Didn't I tell you everything would be fine? Come on, let's go check in on him, " Makoto grins, pulls Haru off the stool, and leads the walk to Sako's bedroom. "Sako.." he calls from behind the door then opens it, "may we come in?" As soon as they look inside, no Sako, but only his bags. "Uhm.. Haru," his voice rings with a bit of alarm, "where's our son?"

Haru immediately turns around and opens the door to their room, and sure enough, he finds him sleeping in their bed. "He's here Makoto," he sighs in relief, "I guess he wants to sleep with us tonight."

"Oh thank goodness he's okay," Makoto leans against Haru and watches lovingly at his son, "Look at him Haru, he's so cute. Should we.. lay down with him?"

"Uh-" Without much choice, Makoto drags Haru towards the bed.

"Just indulge me one more time, please?"

The new fathers lay on their respective sides of the bed. Neither of them are sleepy, but both share an unspoken understanding that they want to be the first thing their son sees when he wakes up. They whisper a good night and wrap him underneath their blankets. After a long day, an old chapter written for two comes to its conclusion. And now, a giant, a superhero, and the son they share marks the start of their new life together.


End file.
